Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Volume & Open Interest
Volume and open interest by strike show where trading activity and outstanding positions are concentrated. Clusters of OI often act as support and resistance levels.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) operates in the Consumer Defensive sector, specifically the Discount Stores industry, with a market capitalization near $445.29B, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 333,000 people, carrying a beta of 0.91 to the broader market. Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. Led by Ron Vachris, public since 1986-07-09.
Snapshot as of May 28, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $997.74
- Total Volume
- 76.7K
- Total OI
- 271.4K
- Call OI
- 121.3K
- Put OI
- 150.1K
- Gamma Concentration
- 0.02
As of May 28, 2026, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) has 76.7K contracts traded today against 271.4K contracts outstanding. Open interest breaks down as 121.3K calls and 150.1K puts. Turnover ratio is 0.28: typical maintenance flow relative to existing positions. Gamma concentration is 0.02: open interest is more distributed across strikes. Comparing today's volume to accumulated open interest reveals whether flow is opening new positions or closing existing ones, with heavy OI strikes often acting as support and resistance.
How COST volume & open interest Data Feeds Strategy Selection
Strategy selection on Costco Wholesale Corporation options does not derive from any single metric in isolation. The volume & open interest view above sits inside a broader read: ATM IV currently sits at 25.4% and dealer gamma exposure is negative, so dealer hedging amplifies directional moves. Combine the volume & open interest data here with the volatility-skew surface, dealer-gamma exposure, max-pain level, and upcoming-events calendar to build a positioning thesis. Risk-defined structures (credit spreads, debit spreads, iron condors) are usually safer than naked positions while the regime is uncertain; the data on this page anchors the inputs but does not by itself constitute a trade thesis.
How to read the COST volume and OI data
The two-panel chart above splits Costco Wholesale Corporation contract activity into volume (daily flow) and open interest (cumulative inventory) per strike. The per-strike grid table beneath gives the precise numbers for the densest 30 strikes. Current put/call ratio is 1.53, put-heavy - protective or bearish positioning dominates. Total call OI of 121.3K versus put OI of 150.1K gives a put/call OI ratio of 1.24 - structurally a slower-moving signal than the volume-based ratio.
COST flow vs positioning
Volume tells you what flows happened today; OI tells you what positions accumulated. Both can move in opposite directions: rising volume with falling OI means contracts are being closed (covering); rising volume with rising OI means new positions are being opened. The combination matters more than either alone for reading sentiment. The per-strike grid distinguishes the strikes attracting flow today from the strikes carrying accumulated inventory - high volume at strikes that also carry high OI typically means rolling activity (closing front-month, opening longer-dated), high volume at low-OI strikes typically means fresh directional positioning. Combined with the current negative dealer-gamma regime, large OI clusters tend to act as price repellents that accelerate moves through key strikes.
Using COST OI/volume data alongside other surfaces
Per-strike OI is the input to dealer-gamma calculations: strikes with elevated call OI generate gamma walls that dealers must hedge into as spot approaches them. The gamma-exposure page combines this distribution with the dealers' assumed-long-gamma assumption to project hedge flow. Volume cross-checks recent positioning shifts in the chain that haven't yet shown up in cumulative OI. Pair both with the term-structure view on the volatility page to determine whether the activity is concentrated in near-dated event hedging or longer-dated structural positioning. Front-month expiration for COST sits at 29 days, so near-dated volume currently dominates the flow reading.
Learn how volume and open interest is reported and how to read the data →
COST highest open-interest contracts
| Type | Strike | Expiration | Volume | OI | IV | Bid | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUT | $720.00 | Jun 5, 2026 | 2.2K | 123 | 31.5% | $0.01 | $0.19 |
Top 1 contracts from the institutional-grade nightly options scan; ranked by oi within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked COST volume & open interest questions
- What is the COST options turnover ratio?
- As of May 28, 2026, COST turnover ratio is 0.28 (76.7K contracts traded against 271.4K contracts outstanding). A turnover ratio below 0.5 is typical maintenance flow against existing positions.
- Where is COST open interest concentrated?
- Gamma concentration is 0.02: open interest is more distributed across strikes, reducing any single-strike pinning force. The full per-strike open-interest distribution is visible in the chain view.
- Why does volume-open-interest matter for COST options?
- Volume tells you what is being traded today; open interest tells you what was already there. The combination separates opening flow (today's volume building new positions) from closing flow (today's volume unwinding existing ones), and locates the strikes that carry hedging-driven support or resistance based on dealer-gamma concentration.